Lease or sale of condo can remain private

Q. As a townhouse owner, am I entitled to see a list of the units that are rented in my association? I am concerned that too many units are being leased in the association. This certainly impacts my ownership greatly. I read your column every week and would appreciate it if you could address this.

A. A list of units that are rented in the association is not among the books and records that an Illinois condominium or common interest community association must maintain for examination and copying by owners. Further, the Condominium Property Act provides that unless otherwise directed by court order, an association need not make documents connected to the lease, sale or other transfer of a unit by a member available for inspection, examination or copying by its members.

It would be up to the board to decide whether to provide you with copies of leases for the units in the association. Nonetheless, I can't imagine why the board just wouldn't let you know, for example, the number of units that are being leased, as this is information it would routinely provide on a prospective purchaser's lender's association questionnaire.

Q. The declaration for our 40-plus unit condominium says the presence of a majority of the owners at a meeting of the owners constitutes a quorum. However, the notice of our annual meeting I just received says the quorum is 20 percent of the owners. Which is correct?

A. The Condominium Property Act provides that for condominiums with 20 or more units, the percentage of unit owners constituting a quorum is 20 percent. The quorum stated in the notice of the annual meeting is correct. Note though that the percentage refers to the presence of owners with 20 percent of the percentage of ownership in the common elements, and not simply owners of 20 percent of the units.

In a condominium association with less than 20 units, the quorum would be whatever percent of the owners is set forth in the declaration; but the number would be 20 percent if the declaration is silent.

Q. I live in a large townhouse-style condominium. Notice of board meetings is posted at the clubhouse of our association and nowhere else; however, most owners do not use that facility or live near it. As a result, owners are often not aware of board meetings. Is this an appropriate location for the posting of board meeting notice?

A. The Condominium Property Act provides that notice of every meeting of the board of managers shall be posted in entranceways, elevators or other conspicuous places in the condominium at least 48 hours prior to the meeting of the board of managers. Where there is no common entranceway for seven or more units, the board of managers can designate one or more locations in the proximity of these units where the notices of meetings are to be posted. The posting of the notice only at the clubhouse is not necessarily conspicuous. The board of your association should consider posting the notice of board meetings in one or more locations in the proximity of the units in the association, and not just at the clubhouse.

Note, too, that notice of a board meeting must be given to each unit owner who has provided the association with written authorization to conduct business by acceptable technological means, such as email, and some declarations require notice of board meetings to be mailed or delivered to unit owners.

• David M. Bendoff is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.